Day of the Champions
by Badger94
Summary: Sakura was ready, she could feel the dryness that was crawling up her throat. Today was the day that would set her apart - today was the day she started the journey to being a Champion. Typhlosion crooned giddily next to her, nothing would stop her.


Day of the Champions

Chapter One

I Ponder If Something Great

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><p><strong>|September 8th|<strong>

_Outskirts of the Forest of Death_

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><p>Sakura frowned, clearly peturbed. Her Typhlosion kept his dark eyes on her as she stared down at her phone, her face paler than normal and her pink bangs hiding her face. Her phone had a flashing message: <strong><em>All Eligible Trainers, the deadline to sign up for the annual Fireland's Tournament is October 1st.<em>**

"Ty?" He crooned, walking to her on all fours and rubbing his big head against her calf, purring cattishly. Sakura smiled, and scratches him behind his ears. He made a throaty sound that was part growl, and part purr.

"We have one month until the Fire Land Tournament starts..." she told him, worry etched into her face. Typhlosion nodded, excitedly. "I know you're exicted!" Sakura giggled.

"Ty-typh!"

"War," she said his name affectionately and he pushed his head into her chest, purring. "You've always been so confident. " she complimented him, War nodded enthusiastically, in clear agreement. It had been a lonely half-year. He stuck his paw on her thigh, dark eyes twinkling with unknown thoughts.

It hadn't always been that way, but when her and her high school friends slowly drifted apart to start their own journeys, she found herself a loner. It hadn't hurt at first, and she had practically driven Naruto away with her bad attitude - that had hurt. Slowly things became hard, and the words their teachers had told them over and over had become true. 'A road isn't meant to be walked alone. '

Sakura straightened her posture, readjusted her red bag and walked forward. She had learnt a lot, she had a full Pokémon team - everyone was unique and she felt that her team was well trained and that she had a real chance at the Fire Championship. Especially with War and General (her newly evolved Donphan). Her oldest friends and definitely among her most powerful two Pokémon. Her dark brown Sperry shoes hit the ground with a soft 'plop' and the dirt road winded into a large dangerous looking forest.

'I haven't been here since I fought Sergeant...' Sakura thought, a haunting feeling crept into her bones and War pushed his head against her shoulder, giving her comfort. _I should've died. But, War - even submerged in icy water managed to evolve and save me._ Her Typhlosion was extraordinary, an unusual resistance to water made him a surprise against water type trainers.

She shook her head free of the darker memories, and trudged on forward, it was only a few days walk to Ember City, and from there she could take the train to the capital of the Firelands - Konoha. War trotted ahead sniffing the ground for interesting smells that were vaguely familiar to him. He'd occasionally glance back over his large, sloping shoulders to insure his mistress was there and okay.

Sakura felt the cool rush of wind hit her tanned flesh, she smiled in relief, it was nearly absurdly hot, and any amount of cool air was welcome. She silently praised her wardrobe, a pair of mint-green high-waisted shorts that were dangerously short and accentuated her large rear. She had on a soft grey top that fell to her elbows but no fabric covered her shoulders, or midriff. On the shirt it had 'Hell Yeah' written on it, a gift her mother had sent her via her elderly Pidgeot. Her pearl-pink hair was braided into a fishtail braid and sat over her left shoulder and reached to the middle of her torso, tied expertly with a red ribbon, with her bangs framing her face prettily.

The walk was pleasant enough, despite her owning a Talonflame which was surely large enough to fly on, Sakura enjoyed traveling by foot. She'd always been adventurous and this type of travel aided her vast curiosity of the world. War chased smaller Pokémon into the shrubbery and at one point came back with blood coating his muzzle, _He acts like I never feed him, _she'd long gotten over her Pokémon's carnivorous traits. It saved her money on feeding his seemingly insatiable appetite. Sakura felt her phone buzz, and stopping in her tracks She yanked out her Samsung Galaxy and glanced at the message.

INO YAMANAKA |TIME STAMP: 2:47PM| GOING 2 KONOHA?

Sakura felt the glimmer of a smile gracing her lips, Ino had pursued Land of Wind's Championship along with the vast majority of her age group, two months ago. No one had really wanted to wait to try their luck at being a Champion, alas a native Suna resident had won in the end but several of her class mates had had scored high, too. With the Fire Land Tournament growing near they'd rushed back home to try and aquire the requirements necessary to compete.

Responding swiftly, Sakura felt a sliver of normalcy returning to her. Hopefully she'd see her friends again, and start start a new journey as stronger and wiser trainers. Ino never responded but Sakura was sure that everyone would see eachother in Konoha soon enough. Her heart raced, and her stomach tightened.

A dark shadow fell over her, and a cold wind whipped at her flesh. Looking up, fast moving clouds so dark they looked like the sky had been given purple and green bruises, were making their way in her general direction and destination. "Oh, fantastic." Sakura groaned, clearly agitated. War whimpered and glanced up at her with big brown eyes. She remembered some batty lady raving about a unusual cold front moving in, Sakura hadn't taken her seriously. Wrapping her arms around herself, she realized she probably should have.

"Hey, you!" Sakura turned - nearly falling as she did so. Her eyes fell on a handsome, tall, blond with grey-blue eyes. He wore a black T-shirt, with khaki colored skinny jeans, and dark brown boat shoes.

"I once battled a Typhlosion - kicked my ass! Yeah. Lets see if I can with this time around." War snorted, and the blond released a ecstatic looking Dragonite. War hissed, his dark fur bristling in anticipation and Sakura was still shell-shocked.

"But.. It's about to storm..." was her lame response, the blond let out a deep baritone laugh that made her groin get hot. He tied his hair up in a topknot, a huge part covering the right of his face.

"That's even better - it'll be explosive. Yeah. "

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><p><strong>|September 8th |<strong>

_Halfway Point Inside the Forest of Death_

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><p>Shion did her best - honest to Arceus, she did. But that stuttering Hyūga was pushing on her every last nerve. Tossing flaxen, blonde, colored hair over her slim shoulders, her lavender eyes eyed Hinata who, as usual, sat still and gazed upon their tall, blond companion. Who was having a hard time setting up his new luxury tent. That's all Hinata ever really did, gazed with adoring pearl eyes at Naruto. Shion was getting more than irritated.<p>

_She can't be as innocent as she comes off, _ Shion thought darkly, eyes narrowing in thought. Her tall frame swayed slowly, and suddenly her Mewostic was tugging at her tight black skirt.

"Hmm?" Shion watched Meowstic point up, and that's when she saw the dark, ominous clouds gathering conveniently above them. "Great." The sarcasm was enough to turn Naruto's gaze onto her, and Shion felt the back of her neck turn pink. She still hadn't figured out how she she felt about him, some days she felt such love for him and other days, she wished awful things upon him.

"Shion-chan?" Naruto asked, bewildered, the humongous tent caved in on him, and Shion suppressed a giggle. His Meganium, Hera, let out a worried groan and start to pull the tent off of him frantically, as she yipped: "Gaaaaan!" Shion briefly wondered when her atenanaes would grow back.

"Hurry with the tent, a huge storm just conveniently parked itself above us." Hinata stood up, her long, sheer, pale blue skirt flowing around her as she attempted to assist Naruto, and Meganium with the tent.

Times like this made Shion feel alone, atleast when Sakura had been with them she she had had someone to argue with. Hinata was boring, and Naruto was to oblivious. Tapping her her foot inpatiently, Shion watched as the tent finally was constructed. Naruto cheered and hugged a smug looking Hinata.

The rain began all at once, heavy and aggressive. Shion shrieked and sprinted into the orange tent, inadvertently knocking Hinata into the mud. Shion did not like storms.

The inside of the tent was large, and Shion tossed her pale yellow sleeping bag on the ground, turning to Naruto expectantly. "I'm hungry."

Naruto's own stomach growled loudly in return, "Ne, I have ramen." Shion sighed exasperated and once Hinata wiped her face and hands, she spoke.

"I still have rice and some magikarp that I can cook.." Shion nodded, better than nothing. Her lavender eyes fell on the volomptious brunette who patiently began boiling rice and warming a pan to grill the remaining magikarp Naruto had fished the other day.

Naruto babbled idiotically, and Shion recalled the moment she met the handsome trainer. It had been a stormy night like this, and he had ran full force into her. The two had rolled into a roaring river and she woke up on the river bed with him furiously preforming CPR. She felt her cheeks heat up, and her Mewostic sat in her lap.

"Here.." Hinata passed around a plate loaded with steaming rice and grilled magikarp. Shion's mouth salivated - Hinata for all her stammering, was a fantastic chef. She and Hinata aren't that different, really. Rich, forceful families - high expectations. Shion frowned, except Hinata didn't run

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><p><strong>|September 8th |<strong>

_Citadel Hotel, Ember City_

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><p>Ino was happy she checked in early (an awful storm was raging on outside), being Sasuke's partner had its perks, expensive luxury hotels and always arriving early. In truth, she was surprised that this partnership had lasted this long. Sasuke was still sullen and angry at the world, with too-high expectations for his Pokémon. Ino, herself, was still excited, chatty and driven to be the best by any means. They had a nice rhythm, she talked the day away and Sasuke grunted occasionally in response. They trained and found one another challenging and grew from their battles.<p>

She fell into the giant king sized bed, sinking into the ivory comforter with a pleasant sigh. It had been a few weeks since they'd stayed in a hotel, Sasuke and her had spent a lot of time traveling in Rice Country doing some heavy duty training. Sasuke was determined to win this championship. Turning her gaze towards the bathroom, Ino caught sight of Sasuke brushing his teeth. His shirt was off, revealing his pale skin, that didn't tan whatsoever, and his taught back muscles.

He had placed fifth in Suna, Naruto fourth, Neji third, Shikamaru second and Gaara first. The blow had been big, and losing in front of his father, well, she'd never seen Sasuke look so defeated. Azalea, her faithful Espeon, crawled into the crook of her neck, purring loudly. "Hey pretty lady," Ino cooed. Espeon licked her nose in response.

Her phone buzzed,

SAKURA HARUNO |TIME STAMP: 2:56 PM| HELL. YEAH.

Ino grinned, almost maniancly, she missed Sakura and was thoroughly dissapointed that she had stayed in Fire instead of exploring Wind with her. Tossing her phone on the end table she rolled on her stomach and _let_ out a dramatic sigh. She had expected her to be in Suna with Naruto, she had always thought those two would end up together. She'd asked Naruto about the situation, he was uncharacteristically quiet and brooding.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, and if Ino didn't know him one would assume he was annoyed. But he was just half-interested.

"I think everyone from school is going to be here." Ino stated, Sasuke merely shrugged as he slid into black sweatpants with the Uchiha crest on the left pant leg. He gave her a half-smirk, and Ino tried to avoid his smoldering charcoal eyes.

"Why're you looking away?" he asked, his voice deep and husky. Ino felt the bed sink as he lowered himself onto it. He crawled over her, and Ino tried to swallow her gasp.

"This will be like a -" he cut her off by pressing his thin mouth onto hers, and Ino shut her eyes and melted into him.

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><p>|<strong>September 8th |<strong>

_Halfway point Inside the Forest of Death_

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><p>It wasn't entirely impossible, Naruto thought wryly. He could win this championship, he already battled the majority of the people competing this year. He paused in his thoughts as the inside of the tent lit up from the blast of lightning. Shion trembled in her sleep. He sighed deeply.<p>

His team was better, so much better. He'd battled high level trainers, Jōnin, and won. Not all the time, but quite a bit. Hera, his affectionate Meganium, was battling better than ever, despite her missing antenaes. He nearly giggled, no matter how often he saw it, the burnt stubs always sent him into a fit of laughter. He rolled over, still feeling energetic. He had Hades his ever calm Heatmor, Hera the sweet Meganium, Aphrodite the rebellious Gengar, Apollo the always positive Braviary, Posiden the hot-tempered Seismitoad, and Ares the troublemaking Exploud. His team was diverse and skilled, perfecting the art of teamwork. Even Sasuke couldn't beat him, and he had always been top of his class.

Naruto chewed his lower lip, tossing and turning the more he contemplated strategies. He wanted to train with Neji, he'd have to remember to text him at a decent hour. Too bad Gaara was staying in Wind.

"N-Naruto?" he heard her soft stammer.

"Why're you still up?" he asked, letting out a loud yawn. She didn't respond quickly, but she eventually sighed. Hinata sure was weird, always stammering and turning red around him. Most of the time, he wasn't sure how to feel other than incredibly awkward and uncomfortable.

"Naruto.. I lo-"

"FLAME THROWER!" and suddenly their entire tent was aflame.

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><p><strong>|September 8th |<strong>

_Citadel Hotel, Ember City_

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><p>Sasuke felt content with Ino curled into his ribs, her blonde hair splayed over his pale chest. She'd been a constant in his life - albeit, annoying - like an anchor keeping him from drifting away into the blackness of the sea. Cataclysm - his Jolteon - was curled up against Ino's Espeon at the foot just the bed. His mind trailed to the upcoming Fire Tournament, he had to win this time around.<p>

A burning ambition churned in his very core, and he tried to analyze his loss against Naruto. That loss had been almost more surprising than upsetting. They were tied, and down to their last Pokémon, his shiny Charizard, Doom, and Naruto's energetic and frilly Meganium. Sasuke suppressed a growl. He lost against a girly, fluttering Meganium. Who didn't even have antenaes anymore - that made him laugh.

Naruto seemed to thrive in situations where the odds were against him. If the battle was in his favor, he'd lose. But, the minute he had a severe type disadvanatge, Naruto suddenly became a expert strategist. Doom, she had performed well but when Meganium broke her wings with a powerful vine whip, Sasuke refused to continue. Fugaku had later lectured him on how the well fair of one's Pokémon was pointless if they couldn't win. But, it was easy for Sasuke. Doom, would never be able to fly again if he had forced her to battle - and she would have fought on, gladly, for him.

"This is why you're a failure, why can't you be like your brother!" his father had seethed darkly, his cold brown eyes boring into his charcoal ones. Sasuke shook the negativity away and planted a kiss on Ino's forehead. Ino had won the coordinating Tournament, and this year she was after the Trainer Tournament. It was amazing, her flexibility to bounce between two professions so successfully.

**|September 9th|**

Ino yawned sleepily, wearing a thick, plum purple, turtleneck with dark straight-legged jeans and dark purple keds. Her hair was hanging past her waist, she shivered.

"Lets battle before breakfast, I saw quite a few trainers at the park when I went running this morning." Sasuke stated, he tugged his navy scarf tight around his neck. This sudden cold weather was surprising, and not welcome. He had broken out his thick black and navy flannel jacket that fit snuggly over his navy, thick long-sleeved shirt. He wore dark skinny jeans and navy blue and black basketball shoes. His face was bright pink from the chilled weather.

Ino clung to his arm, sulking: "Sasuke, I want a hot cocoa!" He smiled at her,

"Tch, after."

The park was surprisingly busy, Sasuke found a male with a Dragonite and tossed Doom out for a battle. "Flame thrower!" Doom let out a torrent of flames which the Dragonite easily avoided.

In his peripheral vision, he watched Ino and her Goodra battle a Luxuray. "Dodge, use Dragon Claw!" Doom swerved to the left, and Sasuke's breath hitched at the sight of her scars from her battle against Naruto's Meganium. She slashed Dragonite on the belly, a slurry of blood spurted out and dirtied her golden body.

Dragonite used Dragon Rage, sending Doom backwards into a tree - which, snapped in half. Sasuke, for a moment, half-expected Doom to not move. But she let out a frightening roar and flew into the sky, royally pissed off.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope everyone enjoyed! Please leave a review, it's a fantastic way to motivate me and so I can shape the story to benefit the readers.**


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